Formed July 21, 1821 (1st county)
Escambia County (321,897), Pensacola (54,310)
The courthouse is a Modern style structure that looks very little like a courthouse. The 1978 building is located at Government and Spring streets, three blocks south of United States Highway 98 Business. Hugh J. Leitch, Ellis W. Bullock, Look & Morrison, Marshall & McNeal, and Hennington, Durham & Richards all participated in the building designs. There were 1885 and 1930 versions of the courthouse in Pensacola, the only county seat. The Courthouse was remodeled in 1998 and an Administration Center was added in 2006. The Escambia River is the source for the county name. Escambia is Native American for “clear water” or Spanish for “trade.” Pensacola is Native American for “long haired people.” The county was formed on July 21, 1821 as one of the 1st two counties in Florida. It extended all the way to the Suwannee River.
The area of the county is 664 square miles. It is 38 out of 67 counties in the state. It ranks 21 out of 67 in population in the state. It has a density of 484.8 persons per square mile making it 16 out of 67 in the state. Escambia County has 17.4% of its population in its incorporated areas. Interstate Highway 10 crosses the county east to west from Santa Rosa County to Alabama. United States Highway 29 enters from Alabama to the north and terminates. United States Highway 90 parallels Interstate Highway 10 from Santa Rosa County to Alabama. United States Highway 98 also crosses east to west from Santa Rosa County to Alabama.
Escambia County government consists of a manager, sheriff, and appraiser (executive). It has 5 Commissioners (legislative.) Eleven Circuit Court Judges serve Escambia, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, and Walton counties and Four County Court Judges, clerk, and county attorney serve Escambia County (judicial.) The county is located in the northwest corner of Florida on the border with Alabama and the Gulf of Mexico. The Perdido River forms the western border with Alabama. The Escambia River forms the eastern border. The Gulf of Mexico is the southern border. The center of the county is 20.5 miles North-Northwest of Pensacola near Cantonment. The county is surrounded clockwise by Alabama and Santa Rosa County and the Gulf of Mexico. The county is shaped like a flower vase with Pensacola in the southeast corner of the county. Pensacola is the county seat and the largest city. It is 16.9% of the county population. The county is pronounced ES-KAM-BEE-A. The county seat is pronounced PEN-SA-KOE-LA. This county is in the Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Century
Pensacola
